The explosion of Internet computing is promising to change the way companies are building networks. The gradual maturity of the Internet into a business medium is enticing companies to use the net as a key pipeline for their networks, creating virtual networks interlinked through cheap connections from Internet service providers. Internet connections can provide a cheap pipeline. But even more significant, the Internet allows for connectivity from disparate platforms through universal protocols. The universal protocols allow remote employees and telecommuters access to companies Intranets through local dial-up connections. The attraction of the Internet includes low-cost, infallible infrastructure and improving security. However, while security is getting better, adding the Internet to any connection adds a long delay that can make some applications almost useless. Internet service providers are increasingly focusing on performance, with some even offering performance guarantees as part of their service. The continuing improvement of the Internet attracts many users looking for the universal connectivity of the net.
The competing interest of price versus performance has also prompted the move away from mainframes to Client/Server computing. The move to Client/Server computing means businesses are ditching their mainframe computers in favor of personal computers or workstations on local networks. The "client" is an employee on the network and the "server" is the computer that runs the network. A Client/Server set-up enables users to get and analyze data quickly. In addition to putting a company's employees on a computer network, which helps them to communicate better, Client/Server computing allows users to use different hardware, software and information from different sources. Client/Server computer is moving to an open, flexible platform that allows the integration of data from different platforms and sources. While Client/Server computing sounds wonderful, there are still problems. In the classic Client/Server architecture, the client and server are two separate and distinct programs. Most of the processing work is done by the server. The client only offers a view into the server's data. Generally, set-up of these applications is often tedious and the programs rarely share code.
The release of the Java object-oriented product by Sun Microsystems, Inc., provides a windowing system, Internet protocol and platform independent product. Java satisfies the public's desire to animate and add dynamism to the static web pages of the Internet. More importantly, Java's platform independence levels the playing field for software vendors, enabling them to escape the dominance of a single supplier. Java permits writing to a virtual platform which is installed on most desktop web browsers. System managers have quickly recognized the advantage of a single master copy of programs that are stored in one place, ideal for easy update, that downloads to the client for the duration of the session, thus exploiting the users desktop processor in a client/server model but without the client side maintenance and version control costs. For details and background with respect to the Java System, reference may be made to a typical text, "Just Java", 2nd Edition, Peter van der Linden, Sun Microsystems, 1997.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for an object-oriented object with the ability to run either connected to a server or in a stand-alone mode which minimizes the server workload to ensure quick response.